The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between November 1, 2015, and October 31, 2016 (see FAQ for exceptions), are automatically nominated for the 2016 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on November 3, 2016, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.

KIRKUS REVIEW

Clancy’s gone, but Blackwood (Dead or Alive, 2010, etc.)
continues his international action-adventure series by dispatching Jack Ryan
Jr. into espionage’s "wilderness of mirrors."

The elder Ryan is now president of the United States. The
younger Ryan’s no warrior-statesman. He works instead for Hendley Associates—aka
The Campus—a supposed investment group using profits to finance a civilian
contractorlike CIA. In Tehran, Ryan’s scoping things out after the election of
a moderate president. He meets close school friend Seth Gregory, who’s
supposedly in Iran on oil business. The next morning, Ryan is informed by two
shadowy characters that Seth has disappeared. He learns that Seth is CIA, and
Seth’s father, Paul, was a Cold War "golden boy" of the CIA’s
Intelligence Directorate. Paul was branded a traitor and committed suicide.
Seth intends to use one of his father’s plans to free Dagestan from a Putin-parody
Valeri Volodin, the Russian Federation president. Blackwood’s character
development is drowned out by page upon page of pistol and rifle fire—and
computer/cellphone phishing—from Iran to Dagestan. Settings are green-screen
backdrop maps. Blackwood introduces beautiful Iranian Ysabel Kashani, who
rescues (and beds!) Jack. Bad guys are rogue British agent Wellesley, willing
to kill to foil Seth’s plan and maintain stability, and Russian Oleg Pechkin,
who manipulates both sides under multiple names but mostly offstage. The
narrative is continuous action and derring-do, with Jack relying on
instantaneous satellite-phone links home to Hendley for intel, all while flying
to Scotland to rescue a Dagestan leader’s daughter from kidnappers and then
knocking out a "Borisoglebsk-2…specifically designed to take down
satellite and GPS systems" to ensure the Dagestan democratic revolution
reaches social media.

A complex international adventure that's less military hardware–centric than Clancy solo,
but Blackwood uses "notional," which fans will know is homage to
the maestro.

Be the first to discover new talent!
Each week, our editors select the one author and one book they believe to be most worthy of your attention and highlight them in our Pro Connect email alert.
Sign up here to receive your FREE alerts.